Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Pope Francis Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 29, 2019 22 Comments
Last week, we reported that faithful Catholics threw primitive figurines in the Tiber that were used in a Vatican garden ceremony and placed by an altar in Rome’s Church of Santa Maria in Transpontina. The Catholic men were offended that the "Pachamama" statues were more akin to fertility goddesses than sacred Catholic images. In an apologetic statement, Pope Frances indicated that the statues have now been dredged up and may be displayed again.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 10, 2019 38 Comments
During a gathering of South American bishops at the Vatican, Pope Francis urged them to consider dropping celibacy requirements for some priests to address a severe priest shortage in remote areas of the region.
The three-week Synod of Bishops for the Amazon also will address crucial regional topics ranging from protection of rainforests and local cultures to climate change, migration and clean water.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 03, 2018 29 Comments
As a Catholic, I have been following the response of the Catholic Church to the detailed testimony of former Vatican diplomat Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò that the Vatican knew about the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by an American cardinal and covered it up. So far, American Catholics are giving the pontiff low marks for his handling of the scandal.
Just 3 out of 10 American Catholics say the pope has done an “excellent” or “good” job handling the church’s sex abuse crisis. The approval percentage is the lowest that Catholics in the U.S. have given the pope since the Pew Research Center began tracking views of his performance more than four years ago.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 14, 2018 26 Comments
Pope Francis has just concluded an emergency summit with U.S. bishops over the growing sex abuse crisis and cover-up scandal that has impacted the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the revelations in by a Pennsylvania grand jury and the details offered in a letter recently published by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who served a a Vatican diplomat in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 29, 2018 72 Comments
A shocking 11-page letter by a former apostolic nuncio (a papal diplomat) to the United States has rocked the Catholic world after it was widely released last week. The testimony offered by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, accuses several senior church officials of complicity in covering up allegations of sexual abuse of minors and young men by former Archbishop of Washington D.C., Theodore McCarrick. Viganò also claims that Pope Francis knew about sanctions imposed on then-Cardinal McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI, chose to ignore those sanctions, and allowed McCaarrick to become a power-player in determining church appointments in this country.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 20, 2018 28 Comments
About six days after a report dropped that detailed the child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania, Pope Francis has released a statement tearing apart those involved in the abuse and cover-up. From The Washington Examiner:
"'If one member suffers, all suffer together with it' (1 Cor 12:26)," the pope wrote in his statement. "These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 02, 2018 40 Comments
Ireland has long been seen as a bastion of the Catholic Church, but its May 25 vote to end national ban on abortion is evidence that the nation is taking a secular turn. Interestingly, Pope Francis was silent during the campaigns on this matter and will not visit Ireland. I suspect that this lack of action is at least partly driven by the fact that progressives are on the opposite side of this issue. It would take a saint to endure the social justice scolding that would have ensued if Pope Francis interjected the Catholic religion into this matter.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 24, 2017 15 Comments
When Pope Francis became head of the Catholic church, many were hopeful that the dynamic and humble priest would blossom into a great leader. It appears now that the Pope's social justice agenda is not appealing to a good portion of the Catholic faithful. Several dozen Catholic clergy members and lay scholars have presented Pope Francis with a document known as a "formal filial correction", accusing him of propagating heresies concerning marriage, the moral life, and reception of the sacraments.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 04, 2017 18 Comments
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights caused international outrage when the judges decided to side with British courts to remove life support for 10-month-old Charlie Gard, refusing to allow his parents to take him to America for trial therapy, even though they raised more than $1 million for it. Gard suffers from a rare genetic condition, which has caused brain damage, and he cannot breathe on his own. The Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life also decided to side with the UK courts instead of taking a stand for Gard's life. After immense criticism, Pope Francis released a statement urging Gard's parents to do everything they can to save their child's life.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 25, 2017 11 Comments
It is being reported that, despite the numerous attack on Christians in Egypt, the head of the Catholic Church has shunned using an armored vehicle when he tours the nation's capital during his upcoming trip.
...[Pope Francis] will fly from Rome to Cairo on Friday for a two-day visit intended to build on inter-faith dialogue with Muslim leaders and to show solidarity with beleaguered Christian communities in the Middle East. Despite his vulnerability as a potential terrorist target, the Pope will not travel through the streets of Cairo in an armoured vehicle, the Vatican said on Monday.
Accessibility by WAH